Google could soon make it easier to view your recent search results and current tab at the same time.
What you need to know
- Google Chrome looks set to add a new feature to easily browse your search results in a side panel.
- The new capability will let you view your current tab and recent search results without having to open a new tab.
- Chrome’s sidebar search has been spotted in the latest build of Chrome Canary.
Google is reportedly developing a new Chrome feature that will allow you to open your recent search results in a sidebar. The experimental feature, dubbed “Side search,” appears to be similar to Microsoft Edge’s sidebar search feature.
As per 9to5Google, the experimental feature opens a sidebar to the left of your current tab when you click the Google “G” logo that shows up next to the URL bar. The sidebar panel displays your most recent Google Search results, while the main browser tab displays any results you click.
This means you won’t need to click the “Back” button to view your recent results or open multiple interesting links in separate tabs to view later. Chrome’s experimental feature has been spotted in the latest build of Chrome Canary, with new flags related to Side search. This particular capability bears the following description:
Enables an easily accessible way to access your most recent Google search results page embedded in a browser side panel — Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS
If this setup looks familiar, it’s because Microsoft Edge introduced a similar feature called sidebar search last year. Its basic function is to allow you to look up a word or phrase in the panel on the right side of your current tab, which will display relevant web results.
This is in addition to another experimental feature, spotted over a week ago, which would allow Chrome to automatically fetch discount coupons for you when shopping online.
The sidebar feature is not expected to be available in a stable release on many of the best laptops until mid-November when Google plans to release Chrome 96.
